Ford pinto ethics

Case study from: business ethics workshop . The cases involving the explosion of ford pinto's due to a defective fuel system design led to the debate of many issues, most centering around the use by ford of a cost-benefit analysis and the ethics surrounding its decision not to upgrade the fuel system based on this analysis. Ethical dilemma introduction the unfortunate tragedies involving the explosion of ford pinto's due to a design defect led to a main debate regarding the use of a cost-benefit analysis and the ethics revolving around the company's decision to go further with the initial, defective prototype.

In 1971 ford motor company decided they wanted to create a compact car that could compete with the other japanese manufactured cars it rushed from its inception to its actual production. Ford pinto ethics case analysis essay sample the ford pinto designs had the placement of the fuel tank behind the rear axle the fuel tank position has allowed the projecting bolts to puncture the tank when the vehicle was struck from the rear. The ethical dilemma in the ford pinto case on august 10, 1978 three young girls died in a 1973 ford pinto after being stuck from the rear by a driver in a van.

In applying kant¶s ethics to the ford pinto case, we would begin by examining the ³good will´ in ford¶s decision ford was greatly motivated as ³imports were eating up more and more of the subcompact auto market,´9 and they wanted to claim a share of the market as well as sell a substantial amount of cars. The ford pinto was rushed into production in august of 1970 by ford's new president, lee iacocca, insisting that without a suitable alternative to the vw beetle the japanese would capture the entire american subcompact market. The ethical dilemma in the ford pinto case on august 10, 1978 three young girls died in a 1973 ford pinto after being stuck from the rear by a driver in a van the ford pinto was completely engulfed in flames and the accident resulted in the death of the three young girls.

The decades since the pinto case have allowed us to dissect ford's decision-making process and apply the latest behavioral ethics theory to it we believe that the patterns evident there.

The purpose of this paper is to look at three different types of ethical theories and they are applicable to ford pinto case the three main ethical factors to be examined in this paper are utilitarianism, deontologicalism and virtue ethics. The ford pinto case is mentioned in most business ethics texts as an example of cost-benefit analysis, yet in those formats any appreciation of the complexity surrounding the issues of such decisions is overly simplified. Ford pinto case ethical issues on august 10, 1978 three young girls died in a 1973 ford pinto after being stuck from the rear by a driver in a van the ford pinto was completely engulfed in flames and the accident resulted in the death of the three young girls. Case analysis ford pinto 1 29/07/13 mvbe amritaschool of business, coimbatore group 1 agroup 1 a managerial ethics &managerial ethics & business valuesbusiness values ii mba 2012-14ii mba 2012-14. The ford pinto scandal is now part of the lore of american culture the pinto was a subcompact car manufactured by the ford motor company for the model years 1971-1980 during the 1970's there were many documented cases of ford pintos bursting into flames as a result of rear-end collisions.

Ford pinto ethics

Case 22 the ford pinto discussion questions 1 although the pinto passed the nhtsa test, ford officials knew that the pinto was prone to catch fire when struck from the rear, even in low-speed collisions, thus it was unsafe to drive the car without any technical improvements implemented. Ford decided, however, not to change the position of the gas tank primarily in order to reduce production costs an internal memorandum written in 1971 recommended that ford should wait to do this until 1976 when the government was expected to introduce fuel tank standards (none existed in 1971. Appendix a-3- name _____ short quiz on ford pinto ethics case study this quiz will be graded pass/fail and is designed to see how well you read the handout material. The ford pinto has been cited and debated in numerous business ethics as well as tort reform case studies the placement of the car's fuel tank was the result of both conservative industry practice of the time as well the uncertain regulatory environment during the development and early sales periods of the car.

Ford pinto case study mgt 216 ford pinto case study the purpose of this paper will be to determine whether ford was to blame in the ford pinto casethis paper will provide possible solutions as well as supporting statements. The ford motor company and its engineers faced a number of ethical predicaments during the development and production of the ford pinto most notably, ethical problems arose concerning what the engineers' responsibilities were once it became clear from the crash tests that the pinto had severe design flaws.

The ford pinto case is today considered a classic example of corporate wrong-doing and is a mainstay of courses in engineering ethics, business ethics, philosophy, and the sociology of white - collar crime. The ford pinto was an american subcompact car produced from 1971 to 1980 it was developed as ford's entry into the small car marketplace pressures from foreign competition and the looming rise in gas prices incentivized ford's upper management to cut the pinto's delivery time in half. Ford motor company manages ethics and social responsibility introduction ford motor company, one of the big three automakers, was established in detroit. • ford did not make adjustments to the pinto design because the $11 cost was too high • ford did not consider the lives which would be saved if the adjustment was made 21 22 ethical issues • ford set limits for 2000 for pinto.